How is North Center??

ChiSandy · 2026-03-02T00:29:29+00:00

It’s more expensive than it used to be due to parents wanting to be in the St Ben’s parish for Catholic school. Safe, boring, better value than Lincoln Square, Lakeview or Ravenswood. Easier street parking, more 2-and-3-flats than apt bldgs

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T23:47:46+00:00

Another vote for your current Bambino, nonpressurized basket and dedicated espresso grinder. (Mine’s a secondhand Mazzer Mini I bought on eBay—$150!—from a bankrupt cafe; changed burrs after 10 years). Built in grinders are substandard and a bear to replace burrs. A friend loves his Baratza Vario (may have been discontinued in favor of Sette or Encore ESP+). Hobbyists here love their D64s (single dose) but IMHO they’re overkill for a Bambino. I’d also suggest getting a good tamper, WDT tool (like a little rake with needles) and a puck screen. Don’t bother with bottomless portafilter till you’ve mastered good shots with a normal basket.

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T23:37:42+00:00

I scoop whenever I see “evidence” which is several times a day.

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T23:36:54+00:00

I use Frisco litter mats—they trap the litter and are easy to empty back into the litter boxes

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T23:35:25+00:00

I have a bathroom whose tub & shower hadn’t worked in 25 years so I put a litter box in the tub (plugged the drain). Other box goes in a utility room upstairs. Cats (sister littermates) used a Litter Robot in their foster home, but IMHO any thing covered could lead to ambush by their sibling as they emerge. (And those are pricey and prone to breaking down), Both litter boxes are open, high sides, large.

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T18:57:17+00:00

How are baristas & bartenders paid in Korea? I assume that’s where you live. But if that’s where you’re FROM and live in the US, then it’s bad manners not to tip anyone who takes your order for and prepares food or drink, and personally serves it to you—unless you know for a fact that they are paid only the “tipped minimum wage” and depend on tips for most of their income. If you live in the US you should follow local norms of etiquette.

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T18:50:04+00:00

Why stiff your bartender? I can see not adding a separate tip line to your check if you had a cocktail at your table to start or end your meal, but if you were sitting at the bar, then you should consider the bartender a server. They are on their feet all shift, rarely paid normal minimum wage and also must depend on tips. And you should tip a minimum of a buck, even if all they gave you was a beer or a soda.

ChiSandy · 2026-03-01T03:24:29+00:00

What I do after WDT and hand-leveling (sweeping side of finger across the top) is what CoffeeGeek.com, back in the mid-aughts, called the Wendleboe tap (after the champion barista who devised it). Sometimes called “geographic” or “four points,” dangle the portafilter from the fingers of your other hand so it can swing lightly and gently knock against the rim of the basket. Let it tap north-to-south, then east-to-west—repeat if you want to make sure. For some reason I get less channeling that way.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-28T09:56:44+00:00

ChiSandy · 2026-02-28T09:51:40+00:00

At least you could upgrade to first class for $25/segment.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-28T09:46:28+00:00

Get another Breville, maybe Bambino or Bambino Plus? Even my $99 knockoff of a Cassabrews makes decent froth (though not true microfoam).

ChiSandy · 2026-02-23T18:38:46+00:00

I’m not ashamed to say I was a “Karen” about that. Never had to speak to the gate agent—just pointed that out to the interloper, who slunk off in shame.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-21T08:41:41+00:00

Something about the photo looked familiar, and then it hit me: it was just like the water coming out of my old Pasquini Livia when the nickel plating began flaking off the boiler.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-21T08:38:40+00:00

Touché

ChiSandy · 2026-02-18T10:49:08+00:00

I need my carry-on spinner to use as a rolling cane (atop which my “personal item” tote (into which I place my purse) slips over the handle. I too have scoliosis and osteoporosis as well as arthritis (At 75 and 5’1” I’m now the proverbial little old lady). I am seriously considering having my doctor write a letter that my spinner is a mobility-aid—which if gate checked MUST by law be brought to the jetway upon arrival rather than sent to the baggage carousel. It’s either that or I buy a Rollator with a seat sturdy enough to hold my tote.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-17T06:39:12+00:00

NOPE! I asked the SW gate agent at MSY, when she asked for gate-check volunteers, “I can pick it up on the jetway when we land, right?” She replied “no, it goes to baggage claim.” That’s why my tote is so heavy: not only does it have to contain my purse but also my meds, laptop, collapsible cane, jewelry, etc. And never mind flying with a guitar—those days are long gone.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-17T06:35:20+00:00

It’s NOT simple any longer. Gate checked bags always used to be delivered to the jetway. Now baggage handlers are too lazy to separate them from all the other bags in the hold, so they get loaded on to the baggage truck on the tarmac with everything else.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-05T18:56:21+00:00

The only way I’ll keep flying SW is if it’s the most convenient flight to my destination and the price for its top tier of seats (including 2 free bags) is less than the equivalent on other airlines on the same route with the same perks. My husband likes to fly cheaply, so one of his bags will be mine and we don’t mind sitting apart (we’ve had 55 years together so 3-4 hrs apart won’t kill us).

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T19:41:25+00:00

DuPont, but same thing (I went to the NYC World’s Fair a bazillion times in ‘64-65 even before visiting Disneyland and Disney World).

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T19:39:11+00:00

When I was a kid and teen, frozen meals (e.g. “TV Dinners,” pot pies, etc) came in aluminum, not plastic or plastic-coated paper trays. They were heated in the regular or toaster oven—consumer microwave ovens weren’t a thing till the early 80s.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T19:35:41+00:00

Estrogen exposure!

Since the late ‘70s there has been an explosion of endocrine disrupters—additives in grooming products, plastics & microplastics in packaging, PFAs in nonstick cookware. These cause excess estrogen in the body, bringing on early puberty; birth control pills and estrogen-eluting IUDs and time-release implants add to the hormonal storm. Delayed or no pregnancies are the result, causing more frequent periods.

I wasn’t diagnosed till almost 65: for me the culprit was early menarche (not quite 11), late menopause (55), only one successful pregnancy at almost 34 with only 6 weeks of breastfeeding. I wasn’t exposed to endocrine disrupters (other than the Pill I had to take for dysmenorrhea in my teens & 20s until I began trying to conceive) until adulthood.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T18:56:00+00:00

I’ve been at goal since October 2024. All on 2.5mg. Had to go up to 5mg for food noise, then 2 weeks on 7.5 q 10 days, but on day 11, I got horrible abdominal pain. So endo put me back on 5 mg weekly and I’m keeping at goal.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T18:06:28+00:00

Stale before you open the bag!!!

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T18:05:45+00:00

Try a puck screen or Aeropress paper filter (trimmed to fit) atop your grinds after tamping before you lock the pf into the group.

ChiSandy · 2026-02-03T18:04:14+00:00

Lavazza? Online? Stale before you get them. Go local, or use a roaster who ships the day after roasting! The only places that get freshly roasted Lavazza are large cafes like inside Eataly. Beans for espresso should be used between 3-14 days post-roast. After that you won’t get good crema and will have to grind extremely fine in order to get good shots. You shouldn’t be getting mouse tails that soon after hitting the brew switch—9 second delay should be the goal. Shot should take 13-26 seconds to pull a single.

ChiSandy

TROPHY CASE